Good Design

Peer Comments - Project 3

Hyo-Ju Cho
Angela Lam
Mitchell Lockley
Lucinda Waters
Emily Soares

Project 3 - Upcycling Unwanteds

For this project coming up with an idea of what to make from unwanted materials was difficult, finding the right material or a way to use that material was a challenge.

For my product I used discarded cable labels used in the electrical engineering industry. These labels are used to identify different cables run through a wired system [think along the lines of a train system] and are checked and relabeled at least once a year with the old labels having to be thrown out if they are not up to standard.

The geometric and aesthetic quality of the material allowed me to play with the form to an extent, but the simplicity in the geometry led me to construct squares to form interlocking sides. the capacity of this new form to move slightly without breaking apart [so long as not on of the tags is loose] lends itself well to a fruit bowl. As a result I decided to construct a fruit bowl from the cable labels.

The final result is eye catching as the back surface of the labels shines with a jewel like quality and a traditional woven pattern. With the original etching visible on the inside of the fruit bowl, this product still shows where it originates from and due to the fact that there is little known about wher eteh material is sourced, it can become a talking point.

Richard Seymour & Dick Powell - Designing Dream Machines

Designing Dream Machines gives an insight into the inner workings of an industrial design company, exhibiting the design process from start to finish. Both Seymour and Powell talk about the various stages involved in the whole design process in order to obtain a successful design.

The video highlights that communication is essential - between the designer and the client and also between fellow designers. There is also a focus on drawing, stressing that although computer aided drawings and modelling programs can show what the finished product would ideally look like, hand drawings showcase the first formation of ideas and show a different feel that cannot be captured in computer aided drawings.

Seymour and Powell give good pieces of advise for any industrial design student, helping with the understanding of exactly why communication is such an important aspect of design as well as the design itself.


*Photo Seymour & Powell, Design Council, http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/DCImages/About%20Design/Resources%20for%20teachers%20and%20students/Teaching%20and%20learning%20resources%20for%20schools/R_Seymour_&_D_Powell_Med.jpg

Project 2 - Peer Comments

Greg Shar
Gleb Labazine
Gabriel Ly
Julia Xiao
Vivian Shao

Project Two -Postal Presents

For this project I wanted to do something a little left of centre [considering how my polypropylene and acrylic was being used] and as a result I thought of a messenger bag - or more the deconstruction of the bag. I had this idea after looking over the slides Mar had shown us [having taken note of the dress and 2 second tent]. Initially I had thought about making a Chinese checker set but that idea fell through when I realised how many small fiddly bits there were going to be.

The design of my bag is simple, much like any other sling bag. However I thought of the more simplistic ways material could be joined together and came up with an eyelet and rope system that allowed the seams to be hidden or shown [depending on how you wish to lace it up]. The material is cotton drill, ensuring that there is no stretch in the material making it more durable. I made this with practicality in mind, so it could be an object that could be used again and again.

Project 1 - Peer Comments

YuShin Cori Eom
Christopher Hui
Stanley Darmawan
Fanru Wang
Lucinda Waters

Project 1: Experience Enrichment

Think about this - you work at a restaurant/bar and the orders are coming in. Your stress level is rising and your starting to forget orders and all you want is one second to calm down. What do you do?

I designed the Pebble Pop to give bar/waitstaff that one second to calm down. Being shaped like a river stone that looks like it could belong in a zen garden [albeit a stone with a flat bottom]. Ideally this bottle opener would be made of stainless steel so it would be cool to touch giving a calming effect. Although it's not the ideal tool to have behind the bar, the way in which you can use the bottle opener vary allowing you to release the urge to rip off that annoying customers head or imagine your punching that rowdy customer that's disrespecting you.

The flat surface is done on purpose so it sits on a bench easily and can be picked up straight away, and there are no parts that can hurt you. My target market being bar/waitstaff I purposely designed the bottle opener in such a manner that it would force them to slow down just that fraction to clear their heads but it can be used at home as much as it can be used at work.

On a whole this product enhances the experience of opening a bottle because the feel of the opener in your hand is smooth and fits the users grip easily.

Don Norman - Emotional Design

The three levels that Don Norman has deconstructed design into - visceral, behavioural and reflective, all help to form an understanding that connects design with emotion.

Although the visceral is subconscious [as is behavioural], it determines whether an object is desired or not, gives people a basis on which they can justify their likes or dislikes. Whereas the behavioural is an automated response which can be considered learned, but is still in the realm of the subconscious. Reflective on the other hand is the rationale behind why people desire certain objects, even though they may not be fully functional. The combination of the three allows designers to see what they can infuse into teir designs to make people want to use their items

Norman points out that that 'pleasant things work better', though the truth of the matter is that pleasant things are equally as functional as 'non-pleasant things' but we [as humans] do not desire to use what we deem unpleasant - wanting the beautiful regardless of its functionality.

By incorporating emotion into design, designers can ask themselves how they can make someone value the product more by making their product evoke an emotion - making the users experience enjoyable so that their item can be used many times.

* Photo Don Norman, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1761289.stm

David Kelley - Human Centred Design

The changes over time made to design shows how designers tackle the problems of society by means of design and shows how the world of design is constantly changing. Through the changes of technology also, the world gets to see what new creations designers come up with next.

The ability of a designer to give an object a personality and evoke certain emotions from a consumer is an idea that is intriguing. In a society influenced by the material, it is interesting to see that design is not centred around the the idea of what's 'cool' or 'in vogue' but rather that design is suited to human behaviour and reflects to a degree a certain personality o evoke a given emotion in the consumer.

As technologies advance, they give rise for designers to find the best ways to utilise the technology and materials in coming up with a design. Take for example the Prada store with its changing glass change room and the London Science Museum with its interactive wall of feedback and games table - in both cases the designs are made to interact with people and engage their senses.

The idea of human centred design is also a means of increasing sustainability; as the sentimental value of the product increases the willingness of a person to give it up will decrease. A concept which I think could work well as design pieces become classics.

Not only has human centred design challenged designers to give objects a certain level of personification, it has also opened up a new branch of design that engages the human senses. More than that, human centred design impacts more on society by considering the human side of things, designers can aim to create objects that help with sustainability. By understanding the way humans interact with their possessions and combining that with existing practices, designers [amateur to professional] gain a better understanding the process in which their product comes to be and consequently how much the owner of their design will value it as a result.

* Photo David Kelley, Designing Interactions, http://www.designinginteractions.com/img/interviews/DavidKelley.jpg

Shape of a Scent

In groups of five we were asked to come up with the characteristics of the scent we were given in order to model a vessel in which the perfume could be contained. Having said that I for one forgot that we needed to design a vessel and opted for a sculpture.

In my group we pin-pointed the three main characteristics to be: bold, lingering and feminine.


Through each of the prototype models I tried to capture one element or another o the scent as it appeared to me. The shape in the top left corner resonating the boldness and lingering aspects most. The wave like top section attempts to convey a sense of slow dispersal while the base is smooth and solid, the surface [although it cannot be seen or touched] was smooth to represent femininity.

The shape to the bottom centre was an attempt to capture the boldness and the feminine nature of the scent through the soft curve and elegance of the shape while the line which cuts through represents the boldness of the initial smell [like the first impact of the smell].

The last shape in the top right however, I must admit was a result of a deleted creative store and thus it resembles a flower. A symbol of femininity anyone?

By combining the two successful prototypes [those being the on in the top left and bottom centre] I ended up with the shape below, which also tries to combine an element of mystery [as I found the scent quite mysterious as well].